User interface considerations to prevent self-driving carsickness

Self-driving cars have the potential to bring significant benefits to drivers and society at large. However, all envisaged scenarios are predicted to increase the risk of motion sickness. This will negatively affect user acceptance and uptake and hence negate the benefits of this technology. Here we discuss the impact of the user interface design in particular, focusing on display size, position, and content and the relationship with the degree of sensory conflict and ability to anticipate the future motion trajectory of the vehicle, two key determinants of motion sickness in general. Following initial design recommendations, we provide a research agenda to accelerate our understanding of self-driving cars in the context of the scenarios currently proposed. We conclude that basic perceptual mechanisms need to be considered in the design process whereby self-driving cars cannot simply be thought of as living rooms, offices, or entertainment venues on wheels

Designing for comfort in shared and automated vehicles (SAV): a conceptual framework

To date, automotive design and research is heavily biased towards the driver. However, with the rapid advance of vehicle automation, the driving task will increasingly being taken over by a machine. Automation by itself, however, will not be able to tackle the transport challenges we are facing and the need for shared mobility is now widely recognized. Future mobility solutions are therefore expected to consist of Shared and Automated Vehicles (SAV). This means that the passenger experience will take center stage in the design of future road vehicles. Whereas at first sight this may not appear to be different to the experience in other modes of transport, automation and shared mobility introduce different psychological, physical and physiological challenges. These are related to the fact that the occupant is no longer in control, has to put his or her life in the hands of a computer, while at the same time expects such future vehicles to render travel time more efficient or pleasurable and engage in so-called non-driving related tasks. Taking inspiration from work conducted in the field of aircraft passenger comfort experience, we discuss major comfort factors in the context of SAV and highlight both similarities and differences between transport modes. We present a human centered design framework to assist both the research agenda and the development of safe, usable, comfortable, and desirable future mobility solutions

the correlation model of head roll and lateral acceleration during curve driving via hammerstein-wiener

Generally, passengers are more prone to Motion Sickness (MS) than the drivers. The difference of their severity level of MS is due to their different head movement towards the direction of the lateral acceleration. During cornering, the passengers tend to tilt their heads according to the direction, while the drivers tends to tilt their head opposite to the direction. Based on this fact, the passengers are able to reduce their MS level if they can imitate the driver’s head movement or lessen their head tilt angle towards the direction of the lateral acceleration. However, it is easier to design MS mitigation method based on the head tilt movement strategy if the mathematical expression of their head behaviour is known beforehand. On way to derive the mathematical expression is by modelling the relationship between the occupant’s head tilt movements and the vehicle’s lateral acceleration during curve driving. Therefore, this study proposed the usage of Hammerstein-Wiener (H-W) method for the modelling purpose. Experiment is set up to obtain the naturalistic data for the modelling process. The modelling process is carried out by varying the input output nonlinearities estimators. The results show that the estimated output responses from the H-W models are similar with the real responses taken from the experiment.The derived models for both passenger and driver have 68.88% and 66.32% of Best Fit (BF) percentages. With further study, the passenger’s and driver’s models which are developed by the proposed H-W modelling strategy are expected to contribute in MS minimisation studies

Looking forward: In-vehicle auxiliary display positioning affects carsickness

Carsickness is associated with a mismatch between actual and anticipated sensory signals. Occupants of automated vehicles, especially when using a display, are at higher risk of becoming carsick than drivers of conventional vehicles. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of positioning of in-vehicle displays, and subsequent available peripheral vision, on carsickness of passengers. We hypothesized that increased peripheral vision during display use would reduce carsickness. Seated in the front passenger seat 18 participants were driven a 15-min long slalom on two occasions while performing a continuous visual search-task. The display was positioned either at 1) eye-height in front of the windscreen, allowing peripheral view on the outside world, and 2) the height of the glove compartment, allowing only limited view on the outside world. Motion sickness was reported at 1-min intervals. Using a display at windscreen height resulted in less carsickness compared to a display at glove compartment height

I Am The Passenger: How Visual Motion Cues Can Influence Sickness For In-Car VR

This paper explores the use of VR Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) in-car and in-motion for the first time. Immersive HMDs are becoming everyday consumer items and, as they offer new possibilities for entertainment and productivity, people will want to use them during travel in, for example, autonomous cars. However, their use is confounded by motion sickness caused in-part by the restricted visual perception of motion conflicting with physically perceived vehicle motion (accelerations/rotations detected by the vestibular system). Whilst VR HMDs restrict visual perception of motion, they could also render it virtually, potentially alleviating sensory conflict. To study this problem, we conducted the first on-road and in motion study to systematically investigate the effects of various visual presentations of the real-world motion of a car on the sickness and immersion of VR HMD wearing passengers. We established new baselines for VR in-car motion sickness, and found that there is no one best presentation with respect to balancing sickness and immersion. Instead, user preferences suggest different solutions are required for differently susceptible users to provide usable VR in-car. This work provides formative insights for VR designers and an entry point for further research into enabling use of VR HMDs, and the rich experiences they offer, when travelling

Motion sickness mitigation in autonomous vehicle: a mini-review

An autonomous vehicle is a rapidly evolving technology that received attention from researchers due to its potential benefits. Besides the advantages, there are also non-negligible issues that need to be overcome in the middle of the autonomous vehicle development process. Among all the challenges, one of the important topics that have not gained adequate consideration is motion sickness (MS). This paper reviews the benefit and challenges of autonomous vehicles, MS factors, the quantifying methods of MS, and the mitigation strategies of MS. Considering the importance of minimizing MS, it is concluded that the number of strategies to lessen MS's severity is still lacking; hence, requiring more attention from automotive researchers

Countermeasures to motion sickness in automobile context

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia do ProdutoMotion sickness is something that affects many humans in several situations, being one of those traveling on a vehicle, for example a car. When self-driven cars become something common in our society, the tendencies point to a rise in the number of people getting afflicted with motion sickness, especially if they choose to engage in non-driving related tasks. This upcoming situation creates a necessity for mechanisms that will help avoid motion sickness, or if it sets in, mitigate its symptoms. This study will be focused on two devices that will work towards preventing motion sickness and one device to try and mitigate motion sickness symptoms. For preventing motion sickness there is the Feet Platform – a platform under the user’s feet that feeds haptic information to the user and warns him when and where the car will be turning or accelerating – and the Visual Cues – projections of an animated body that will provide the same information as the Feet Platform but in visual manner. To mitigate the motion sickness symptoms there is the Airflow system that has two variants – the Cold Airflow that will blow cold air directly on the user’s face and the Aromatic Airflow that will lightly blow a scent towards the user in order to try and mitigate motion sickness symptoms.O enjoo do movimento é algo que afeta várias pessoas em diferentes situações, sendo uma dessas causas as viagens em veículos, por exemplo um carro. Quando os carros autónomos se tornarem algo comum na nossa sociedade, a tendência aponta para um aumento no número de pessoas afetadas por enjoo do movimento, especialmente se decidirem dedicar-se a tarefas não relacionadas com a condução. Esta situação que se aproxima cria a necessidade de mecanismos que ajudarão a prevenir o enjoo do movimento, ou, se acontecer, mitigar os sintomas. Este estudo irá focar-se em dois dispositivos que funcionarão para prevenir o enjoo do movimento e um dispositivo que funcionará para mitigar os sintomas do enjoo do movimento. Para a prevenção do enjoo do movimento temos a Plataforma dos Pés – uma plataforma por baixo dos pés do utilizador que informa o utilizador através de sinais hápticos de quando o carro irá virar, acelerar ou abrandar – e os sinais visuais – projeções de um corpo animado que fornecerão ao utilizador as mesmas informações que a Plataforma dos Pés, mas em aspeto visual. Para mitigar os sintomas do enjoo do movimento temos o sistema de Fluxo de Ar que se apresenta em duas variantes – o Fluxo de Ar Frio que será apontado diretamente para a face do utilizador e o Fluxo de Ar Aromatizado que libertará ar com um odor na direção do utilizador, ambos com intenção de mitigar sintomas do enjoo do movimento

Challenges in passenger use of mixed reality headsets in cars and other transportation

This paper examines key challenges in supporting passenger use of augmented and virtual reality headsets in transit. These headsets will allow passengers to break free from the restraints of physical displays placed in constrained environments such as cars, trains and planes. Moreover, they have the potential to allow passengers to make better use of their time by making travel more productive and enjoyable, supporting both privacy and immersion. However, there are significant barriers to headset usage by passengers in transit contexts. These barriers range from impediments that would entirely prevent safe usage and function (e.g. motion sickness) to those that might impair their adoption (e.g. social acceptability). We identify the key challenges that need to be overcome and discuss the necessary resolutions and research required to facilitate adoption and realize the potential advantages of using mixed reality headsets in transit

How internal and external risks affect the relationships between trust and driver behavior in automated driving systems

Automated driving systems (ADSs) allow vehicles to engage in self-driving under specific conditions. Along with the potential safety benefits, the increase in productivity through non-driving-related tasks (NDRTs) is often cited as a motivation behind the adoption of ADSs. Although advances have been made in understanding both the promotion of ADS trust and its impact on NDRT performance, the influence of risk remains largely understudied. To fill this gap, we conducted a within-subjects experiment with 37 licensed drivers using a simulator. Internal risk was manipulated by ADS reliability and external risk by visibility, producing a 2 (ADS reliability) × 2 (visibility) design. The results indicate that high reliability increases ADS trust and further enhances the positive impact of ADS trust on NDRT performance, while low visibility reduces the negative impact of ADS trust on driver monitoring. Results also suggest that trust increases over time if the system is reliable and that visibility did not have a significant impact on ADS trust. These findings are important for the design of intelligent ADSs that can respond to drivers’ trusting behaviors.This research was supported in part by the Automotive Research Center at the University of Michigan, with funding from government contract Department of the Army W56HZV14-2-0001 through the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and in part by the National Science Foundation. The authors acknowledge and greatly appreciate the guidance of Victor Paul (TARDEC), Ben Haynes (TARDEC), and Jason Metcalfe (ARL) in helping design the study. The authors would also like to thank Quantum Signal, LLC, for providing its ANVEL software and invaluable development support.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/164966/1/Azevedo-Sa et al. 2021 [accepted post].pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/164966/3/Azevedo-Sa et al. 2021.pdfSEL

How Visual Motion Cues Can Influence Sickness For In-Car VR

This video demonstrates our research into the use of VR Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) in-car and in-motion. Immersive HMDs offer new possibilities for entertainment and productivity during travel. However, their use is confounded by motion sickness, caused in-part by the conflict between visually and physically perceived motion. We examine how visual conveyance of motion affects motion sickness during in-car VR